Evan is a Welshmasculinegiven name derived from "Iefan", a Welsh form for the name John. In other languages it could be compared to "Ivan", "Ian", and "Juan"; the name John itself is derived from the ancient Hebrew name יְהֹוחָנָן‎ Yəhôḥānān, which means "YHWH is gracious". Evan also comes from the Gaelic word "Eóghan" meaning "youth" or "young warrior" and Scots for "right-handed".[2] In Hebrew, the actual non-proper noun, "evan/even/eban/eben", literally means "rock". It can also be the shortened version of the Greek name "Evangelos" (meaning messenger, or "Evander" (meaning good man). The old English translation of the name "Evan" could also be interpreted as "Heir of the Earth" or "The King". The name is also occasionally given to females, as with actressEvan Rachel Wood. It may be encountered as a surname, but Evans is usual.

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The popularity of the name Evan for males in the United States rose steadily over the last several decades, going from the 440th-ranked male name in 1957 to peaking at the 35th-ranked male name in 2009. It has since declined somewhat, and dropped out of the top 50 male names in the US in 2013.